Restricted free-agent point guard agreed to the four-year, $29 million offer but New York Knicks likely to match

Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon (8) looks to shoot as he is guarded by New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) in the first quarter of their NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York in March. Lin signed an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

The New York Knicks are expected to match Houston’s offer and retain the 23-year-old who dazzled the NBA and captivated the world with his improbable and unexpected rise to stardom with the Knicks last season.

Lin cannot sign Houston’s offer sheet until July 11, after the July 1-10 free-agent moratorium period. Once he signs the offer sheet, the Knicks have three days to match Houston’s offer and keep Lin.

The first two years of Lin’s deal will be approximately $5.1 million each season, the salary used for the mid-level exception. However, Houston is allowed to offer up to the maximum amount for player with less than six years of service in years three ($9.3 million) and four ($9.3 million) — a structure that is designed to dissuade the Knicks from matching the offer.

That arrangement serves two purposes: It allows the Knicks a chance to keep Lin and allows Lin to take advantage of his market value.

The person also said the fourth year of the deal is a team option. Whichever team he ends up with, Lin is due for a significant raise. He made the league minimum for a second-year player last season: $762,185.

The Rockets claimed Lin off of waivers in December and waived him just before the 2011-12 season started.

Star point guards kept flying off the market Thursday.

The offer sheet cannot be signed until the NBA moratorium ends next Wednesday, at which time the Knicks will have three days to either match it or let Lin walk. The Knicks are determined to keep Lin, even if the contract costs them millions more in luxury-tax payments.

Jason Kidd, who was set to rejoin the Dallas Mavericks, made a late and stunning reversal and agreed to join the Knicks instead. Negotiations were continuing Thursday night, and it was not yet clear whether the Knicks would sign Kidd outright or acquire him in a sign-and-trade deal.

Houston is in desperate need of a point guard, having agreed to trade their starter, Kyle Lowry, to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. The Rockets will receive a first-round pick that, under the terms of the trade, is guaranteed to be in the lottery in one of the next four drafts.

Houston also lost its highly regarded backup point guard, Goran Dragic, who agreed to terms with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

In trading Lowry, the Rockets appeared to be going all-in for Lin. It will be another week before they know if they have him.

Kidd, a 10-time all-star, would be an ideal mentor for Lin, as well as a proven playmaker who can organize the Knicks’ disjointed offense and make sense of the clunky Carmelo Anthony-Amar’e Stoudemire tandem. Even at age 39, Kidd has the skills and the credibility to make a difference.

Signing Kidd — who led the Nets to consecutive NBA finals in 2002 and 2003 when they were in New Jersey — adds yet another layer to the budding rivalry.

Kidd helped lead the Mavericks to the championship only 13 months ago, and is a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. But he is 39 years old and is about to enter his 19th season. His days as an elite point guard are over. The Knicks simply hope he can provide quality minutes every night, whether as Lin’s backup or as the starter.

The most the Knicks can offer Kidd is $9.7 million over three years, by using the so-called mini-midlevel exception. They could pay him more through a sign-and-trade arrangement with Dallas, an option that was being explored Thursday, according to a person involved in the talks.

Kidd had all but committed to the Mavericks and was closing in on a three-year, $9 million deal. But at 4:45 p.m., ESPN.com reported that Kidd had changed his mind and was heading to Madison Square Garden, where he will join a crowded marquee of stars.

Even as reports circulated early in the day that Kidd was heading back to Dallas, a person familiar with his mindset said that Kidd “so much wanted to get to New York” and was clearly conflicted about his decision.

The Knicks snared Kidd just one day after losing Nash — another elite-but-aging point guard — to the Lakers. The Knicks had been negotiating with Phoenix on a sign-and-trade deal for Nash, but Nash instead pushed for a trade to Los Angeles, to compete for championships alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

Before landing Kidd, the Knicks were considering an array of second-tier options, including Raymond Felton, who played a half-season for them in 2010-11 before being traded to Denver in the Anthony deal. Felton could still be an option if the Knicks let Lin leave.

Derek Fisher had also been in talks with the Knicks, but he is now expected to look elsewhere.

The Nets are now among the front-runners to sign Fisher, along with the Mavericks, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Fisher, who won five titles with the Lakers, joined the Thunder in February and was a key part of the rotation for Oklahoma City, which lost to the Miami Heat in the finals.

Five days into free agency, this is already shaping up as the Summer of the Point Guard. It began with Williams and Nash, two of the most prominent on the market. It continued with Kidd, Lowry, Dragic and Lin.

On Thursday, Chauncey Billups agreed to a new deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, while Jameer Nelson reached terms to return to the Orlando Magic. Two others have deals to stay put: Andre Miller with Denver and George Hill with Indiana.

A handful of solid point guards remain on the market, including Felton, Aaron Brooks, Ramon Sessions and Kirk Hinrich.

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